Icarus Raelee: Skyling
by FlowingIvory
Summary: Icarus is a boy who is 17 years old. He was born in the ancient city of Atlantis, and witnessed its destruction. Now, he is on a mission to discover what caused it to sink. In his journey, he will discover more about himself than he ever thought possible.


I was in trouble. Three on one usually is an easy fight for me, but not when those three were the three Erinyes. Not only could they match my swordplay stroke for stroke, they could also chase me in the air. From what I could remember from my studies at the Library of Atlantis, they were born of the blood of Uranus that fell to the earth, making them, technically, in the same generation as the infamous Titans. The three of them were slashing wildly with their scimitars, allowing me barely any time to react. I flew into the sun, trying to lose them in the blinding light, but one of them caught up and clamped hold of my ankle.

"Join us Skyling. Allow the darkness inside of you to take over."

She pulled herself up to my shoulder and pierced my skin at the wing joint with her talon. I looked in fear as blackness began seeping into my right wing. I kicked the Erinye hard and she detached, only to slice upward. I parried the blow and used the force to spin around, bringing my other blade around my body with it. I managed to cut a gash in her shoulder and she retreated.

"One down, two to go."

I redoubled my efforts and flew out of the sun at the remaining Erinyes. I crossed my blades and charged at one, forcing her to block with her sword. I held one blade in that position as I slashed across her belly, cutting deep. As she fell to the ground, the remaining Erinye looked between her fallen comrades and myself, her face pained at the decision.

"Hades will have your power yet Skyling. Mark my words, we will be back."

She flew to the ground to aid her sisters in healing. Without looking back, I flew off to find a place to recover.

I finally landed in a cave beside a natural spring. I stopped, took a drink, and began to assess the damage. I look in the pool and see a few minor cuts on my cheek, nothing serious. I look at my right leg and see a good two-inch gash across the outside of my thigh. That would require some healing. Then I turned my attention to what was really worrying me, my wing. My right wing had been aching constantly since the battle, and I wanted to see how extensive the damage was. The blackness was gone from my wing, which was good, but my skin was red at the joint where the Erinyes pierced it, like a festering infection. The skin wasn't hot, so I knew from experience there was probably a parasite inside of it. Unfortunately, I couldn't heal that on my own, so I turn my attention to my thigh.

"Heal."

I touch my fingers on the edge of the cut and the wound began to seal itself.

"One thing I love about fighting people with sharp swords, clean cuts."

I sat down by the spring to collect my thoughts. It was the only thing that kept me sane in the recent years. Someone or something that wanted me to fight for their cause was almost constantly chasing me. I started fighting for the Light, but in recent years, I realized it's just another side of the same war. I wanted to be neutral in this fight, the one that would end it for good. I haven't found anyone else who wanted that, to be a servant of both the Light and the Dark.

But enough of what could be, I need to focus on what IS.

My name is Icarus Raelee. I am 17 years old. My parents died when I was born, so the Great Library of Atlantis took me in. I was educated in the different arts of combat along with the history of the gods, goddesses, and monsters that roam the land. What I just fought were the three Erinyes, the servants of Hades, lord of the Underworld. Hades has been fighting for the Dark forces for some time now, but he has never been so bold as to attack someone on the surface. Guess I'll have to watch my back even closer now.

* * *

><p>I went scavenging and was able to find a few fruit trees. I built a fire from some dead wood that had fallen around the area and slept inside the cave. That night, I dreamt a vision.<p>

I was in a catacomb, with intricately carved and painted walls. I recognized the paintings as scenes from the Old War, the war between the gods and the Titans. The main focus of these paintings was Poseidon fighting Oceanus, the titan of water. I saw Oceanus hold a glowing green stone and with it, had total command of the waters. Poseidon then surrendered and offered up a skin of wine to Oceanus in victory. This wine was from the press of Dionysus, the god of wine. This wine was stronger than any wine a mortal could produce, and it put Oceanus in a stupor. Poseidon then took the stone and sealed Oceanus away in a tomb under the water. I turned to the floor of the room and saw a glowing green stone in its center. It glowed with power and the energy radiated from the entire room. Then, a girl, about 16 by her height and figure, ran up and took the stone. The entire chamber began to shake and the girl ran off.

The next thing I know, I am above Atlantis. It is sinking. I have often had nightmares about the fall of Atlantis, but never like this. From above, I saw the city crumble from the center outward, and a large shadow moving away from the city under the water.

I woke up in a cold sweat. There was a torrential storm outside the cave. It appeared to be sunrise, but I wasn't going anywhere until this rain stopped, at least, not in the air.

That vision told me who caused the destruction of Atlantis. It was the girl who took the stone. That stone had the power to gain control over water. I don't think she knew that, but that stone was obviously the thing holding Atlantis above the sea. What I don't understand though, was how Oceanus fit into this. It was obvious that Poseidon trapped him during the Old War, but how did the stone fit into it? I thought about it for a while, and then gave up, unable to find a solution. I collected more dry wood and practiced some combat. After that, I took a nap.

When I awoke, I looked outside and found that the rain had stopped, so I went outside to get my bearing. There were still dark clouds and crashing thunder in the sky, so extended flight would not be safe, but a quick ascension should be ok. I flew into the sky and looked around, and I saw a city off in the distance. It appeared to be about five miles away, southeast from here. I couldn't tell if there was a temple there, but if the city was that big, it was bound to have one.

I decided to wait until the storm clouds passed, so I used this chance to bathe and wash my tunic. That tunic was all I had from Atlantis. It was a simple white tunic, trimmed with blue and gold embroideries of waves within the trim. It reminded me of why I had to keep moving. I wanted a new home.

I had relaxed for about half of the day by the time the storm had fully past. I slung my swords onto my back and stretched out my wings. My right wing still ached a bit, but I figured I should be able to make it to the city. I took flight and within a few minutes, I was riding the wind southward toward the city. As I came closer, I began to see it in greater detail. I discovered that the city I was flying towards, was Delphi.

* * *

><p>This was great! Not only was Delphi a holy city, it was home to the temple of Apollo, the God of Healing. If anyone could help me with my wing, it was he. It took about half an hour to arrive. Once I did, I immediately knew something was wrong. Everyone in the city was at the temple, and from what I could see, most were nervously waiting for something.<p>

"What's going on here?" I asked one of the civilians.

"There is a rumor that the Oracle has been killed. One of the priests went inside to check it out." He looked around nervously. "If the rumor is true, then Apollo could come and kill us all for not protecting her."

"Who is allowed to enter the temple?"

"Everyone who visits can enter, however, we do not dare at this time."

"I'm going to take a look." I started walking towards the temple.

"Skyling, wait!" The man chased after me. "Please, if you are going in there, take this." He handed me a silver necklace with a golden lyre charm attached. "This will keep you sane if something should happen to the Oracle. Just pluck one of the strings." He plucked a string and it let out a clear, high-pitched sound. It was very pleasant to the ear. "Use your powers for peace." And with that, the man walked off.

I wrapped the necklace around my hand and headed toward the temple. I entered the doors and saw a man laying on the floor and a woman standing over him. Her eyes were shining as bright as the sun. She looked at me and held out her hand. I felt for the lyre charm, but I hesitated. I wanted to know what she would do. The Oracle then spoke, but her voice wasn't female. It was a man's voice.

"Icarus Raelee. Skyling. You have been chosen of the gods to act in our name. The Titan Oceanus has escaped from his prison. The stone that you saw in the vision is the center of his powers. The god Poseidon used this stone to trap Oceanus in an underwater prison. The city of Atlantis was then built upon his back. When the stone was stolen, Oceanus broke free of his bonds and Atlantis sunk in his wake. What the Council of the gods has decided is to guide you, Icarus, to this stone. As of now, it is your mission to retrieve the stone from the thief, and to return it to Olympus. I give to you, this gauntlet." In front of the Oracle, a thick band of metal with a place for a large stone to set inside of it appeared. It floated toward


End file.
